School Improvement in Maryland

Public Release Item: Public Release items have appeared on HSA forms and then are released for public viewing and use. Releasing items is one step to ensuring that schools, districts, and other stakeholders understand how the core learning goals are assessed on the HSA.

Goal 1 Skills And Processes

Expectation 1.7 The student will show that connections exist both within the various fields of science and among science and other disciplines including mathematics, social studies, language arts, fine arts, and technology.

Indicator 1.7.2 The student will identify and evaluate the impact of scientific ideas and/or advancements in technology on society.

Selected Response Item - Released in 2003

Scientists have altered crop plants to make them more resistant to insects and disease. Which of these processes makes it possible for scientists to alter plants?

  1. natural selection
  2. gene splicing
  3. adaptation
  4. chemosynthesis
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2003_172_bio02.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Selected Response Item - Released in 2005

Certain plant crops are genetically engineered to grow faster and resist disease. These genetically engineered plant crops cannot reproduce because they have a “terminator” gene that keeps their seeds from sprouting. However, once the genetically engineered plant crops are planted outside, they may cross-pollinate with unaltered plant crops.

The use of terminator genes is least likely to result in

  1. increased costs for seeds
  2. decreased varieties of food
  3. terminator genes spreading to other crops
  4. scientists being harmed from working with the terminator genes
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2005_172_bio18.xml

Correct Answer:
D